Bulgarian President Rumen Radev met here on Wednesday with his Indian counterpart Ram Nath Kovind, who came to the Balkan country to boost bilateral ties.

Kovind was the first Indian president to visit Bulgaria in 15 years.

At a joint press conference after talks, Radev called the visit a "landmark political event" because it was a prerequisite for the development of bilateral relations in all areas of mutual interest -- trade, economy, science and education, investment, tourism, and cultural exchange.

The two presidents reviewed the bilateral relations, especially in the area of economics and trade, where the legal framework was satisfactory, "but the results definitely do not satisfy us", Radev said. "Trade turnover of 200-250 million U.S. dollars a year is far from our capabilities," Radev said.

Memoranda of cooperation in tourism, nuclear energy and Hindi teaching, as well as a Science and Technology Cooperation Program for the period 2018-2021 were signed in the presence of the two presidents just before the press conference.

These agreements were important because they were in key areas that contributed to intensifying the contacts between the two countries, Radev said.

"We reaffirmed our commitment to expand our partnership in the fields of politics, economics, defense, science, technology, education, culture and personal contacts," Kovind said.

Kovind noted that the Science and Technology Cooperation Program would improve cooperation in areas such as nanotechnology, traditional medicine and oceanology.

Later on Wednesday, the two presidents would address a Bulgarian-Indian business forum, involving representatives from over 300 companies from both countries.

Kovind said he hoped that successful business cooperation in fields such as information and communication technologies, pharmacy, infrastructure, agriculture, defense and tourism would be achieved at this forum.

During his three-day state visit ending on Thursday, Kovind will meet also with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.